Golf’s most famous sweat-stain model, Lucas Glover, was at it again Tuesday on the East Lake practice tee. Pounding balls. Sweating buckets.
Glover brings to this week’s Tour Championship a story of competitive rebirth unlike any other in a privileged field. A story of outworking his troubles, one so aptly illustrated by the salty, dark Rorschach Test of perspiration that soaked his beige pants two weeks ago while winning in Memphis. So very unfashionable, that honest and obvious soiling of high-end golf apparel.
So, what was the level of grief he absorbed afterward from his peers and the social media universe?
“A lot,” Glover said Tuesday with a smile.
“But,” he added, “I don’t think anybody was not sweating that week. If they weren’t, they’re dead right now. If I could have stopped myself from sweating I would have done it.”
The oldest player in the 30-man field – at 43 – is also the least expected. Glover is the only one in this millionaires club who was so competitively out of it for most of the season that he failed to qualify for any of the four majors. A man, once a U.S. Open champion (2009), who was so shaky with the putter that he missed 10 of 16 cuts at one stage this year.
But after taking up the longer, broom-handle putter - the one made famous by Adam Scott - at June’s Memorial Tournament, the former Clemson player’s fortunes took a whiplash-inducing U-turn. By July, Glover had grown comfortable with his new instrument of hope, running off three straight top-6 finishes then winning for the first time in three years at the Wyndham Championship.
He enjoyed the experience so much that he won the first playoff event – the sweaty FedEx St. Jude Championship the following week. He took an express elevator up the playoff standings: 112th in FedEx Cup points entering the Wyndham Championship; 49th entering the Memphis tournament; 4th going into last week’s BMW Championship; 5th coming into this week’s Tour Championship following a T-22 at the BMW.
That new putter deserves to be pampered, don’t you think? “I should buy it its own seat on the airplane,” Glover joked.
One XL metal stick can change a life.
“Yeah, yeah, for sure, a hundred percent,” he said. “A mindset change, a putter change and here we are. It has been a big revelation, a positive for sure.
“It definitely changes life out here. It’s fun to go putt again in practice. And to see the results of the hard work with the putter the last couple months has been even more gratifying. Putting in the work and seeing the results,” Glover said.
Under the staggered scoring system used in this playoff finale, Glover, at fifth, will start Thursday at 4 under, six back of points leader Scottie Scheffler. That’s the same position from which Rory McIlroy won last year – so, yeah, all possibilities are still on the table for Glover.
In one way, this Tour Championship is Glover’s major this year, all the others having been out of reach. In another very real way, not really. “I wasn’t in ‘em (the majors), did everything I could to get in ‘em, and didn’t make it. But I don’t think anybody at a major is starting 10 under.”
“It’s everybody’s goal at the beginning of the year is to be here, so I can tick that one off,” Glover added. “Obviously a tough start to the season, but I’ve played the way I’m capable of playing the last couple months.”
Along the way, a forgotten former major champion has gained a sizable fan following. Week by week in late summer it has grown as he insinuated himself on the lead and galleries caught wind of how far he had to come to get there.
It’s a time-honored, irresistible tale. “I think it’s just kind of the story of being stubborn the right way and persevering,” Glover said last week at the BMW. “Just one of those typical sports kind of comeback stories, just head down, grind on, and keep at it and keep your goal in your sights.”
With the hottest week of the year forecast for Atlanta this week – highs in the high-90s – might Glover invest some time into picking a color and material that won’t put the residue of his labor on such startling display. Just in case he’s getting a lot of air time Sunday?
“I don’t know. I’m not really worried about it,” he said.
“It’s just hot. I’m going to sweat.”
That’s just the medium of this particular artist.
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